As A Result Of Colonial Nightmare, Sisti Dream House On Auction Block

Colonial Nightmare Puts Dream House Up For Bid

FARMINGTON — Is the most extravagant house in the state destined to become a religious retreat? Or a spa? Or a bed-and-breakfast?

A bankruptcy auction today could decide the fate of 46 Poplar Bars Road, the former home of debt-ridden Colonial Realty Co. executive Benjamin Sisti.

FOR THE RECORD - The construction cost of an average custom-built house in the Farmington Valley ranges from $65 to $125 per square foot. A story on page A1 cited incorrect figures for custom-built houses.

Today, the opulent, 52,515-square-foot estate -- a symbol of the high-rolling 1980s -- goes on the auction block to pay Sisti's debts.

With two other top Colonial officials, Sisti was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 by six banks that claimed the three owed more than $40 million. The three-story mansion and its 17.29 acres was taken over by People's Bank of Bridgeport.

Joel Mandell, a lawyer who is running the auction for Superior Court, indicated that any bid under $2 million probably would not be accepted for the 33-bathroom, 17-bedroom home that is Farmington's -- and maybe the state's -- largest.

But who would buy such lavish digs? For anyone not a movie actor, a Saudi Arabian prince or Benjamin Sisti, what can be done with it?

Still, interest in the roomy estate has been hot.

Dozens of people have asked for the bidding brochures, which explain that potential buyers must show up at noon today with a $200,000 certified check -- no window-shoppers, please. At least eight have toured the property.

Irving Cohen, who says he owns the biggest house in Greenwich [34,000 square feet and two pools], could be the next inhabitant. His children are moving into his Greenwich home and he wants something bigger for himself.

The Vincentians are looking for a new location to replace the Roman Catholic order's $860,000, six-bedroom West Hartford home. Will there be a Sisti chapel? When asked about their interest in

the property, the priests took a vow of silence.

Joe Piccola of Green County, N.Y., wants to turn the estate into a health-care facility.

Religious uses and nursing homes are allowed in residential zones with a special permit. But Town Planner Jeffrey Ollendorf said the permits usually require access from two roads. Sisti's property has access to only one.

How about a bed-and-breakfast?

Reed Bieleki of Hempstead, N.Y., believes the place has potential as a tourist stop.

No way, Ollendorf said. Town zoning regulations limit bed-and-breakfast operations to four bedrooms -- not 17.

"We'd have to declare it a hotel, motel or lodge," Ollendorf said -- and then it would not be allowed.

At least 41 people from the North East have shown serious interest in the place -- 15 from the state, 23 from New York and three from New Jersey. Even the Sunbelt is tantalized by the man-made waterfall, fountains and in-home movie theater. Mandell got calls from Florida and North Carolina.

One out-of-state prospect turned to the Sisti house after not being able to find anything suitable in the Greenwich area. But a helicopter pad may have to be part of the package. Helicopter landing pads are not specifically addressed as accessory uses for single-family homes in town regulations.

"They'd have to submit a petition to the town to include a helipad as an accessory use," Ollendorf said.

Joe Friedman, president of Skyline Realty, was looking at the place as an investment for the owners of the nearby Farmington Mountain Office Park on Route 6.

"We had a brief look at it and decided to pass. We couldn't figure out what we could do with it," Friedman said.

William O'Brien, a Windsor resident who is part of a syndicate of four investors, said he cannot decide whether his group will show up at the auction. His group envisions a spa and fitness retreat for the wealthy, but its members are nervous about getting a zone change.

"We can't come up with a solution as to what to do with it," O'Brien said. "It's a beautiful location. We thought we could make money with it."

But would an affluent buyer get a bargain or a boondoggle?

During the past few years, there have been at least 10 home sales of more than $800,000 in the Farmington area -- the most expensive a $2.5 million custom-built Farmington house.

Sisti moved into his house in 1986. At the time, it was assessed at $2.1 million, based on 1984 prices on a ten-year revaluation cycle.

With the high level of real estate prices at the time, that may have seemed like a bargain to Sisti. In May 1990, his house was appraised at $9.67 million.

In the end, it was the town that profited. This year, the town collected $71,361 in taxes -- paid by the bank -- on a market value of $4.3 million.

The depressed Hartford-area housing market has been unkind to the property.

In January 1991, the appraisal tumbled to $5.5 million. The same firm that set that value priced tennis star Ivan Lendl's 9,484-square-foot Greenwich mansion at $3 million. Building costs

in Greenwich are a bit higher -- about $315 per square foot compared to $117 for the Sisti home.